Inch towards the last hello,
Choke the tears, pause their flow,
A matter of time, oh-so slow,
A quiet wait, and no control.
Not my wish, not my will,
Yet my heart, willing still.

Don't forget when creating Videos

I have always wanted to enahnce our product documentation by including a a series of short (1-2 minute) how-to videos using Captivate. However, the primary user interface for our product is the command line (CLI.) It obviously does not lend itself very well to how-to videos. Or maybe I am limited in my imagination as to how I show our product users as to what to do with our product. In any case, it is a dream, and I hope that one day it will come true.
In the meantime, here are some problems that people face when creating videos, and a list of tips that folks have shared to be kept in mind when creating videos to improve their usability:
A video set is not seen as an effective help-system because the user/learner will have to manually hunt through dozens and dozens of videos to find what they want. The idea is to have a more genuine help system that's easy to use and easy tosearch.
One can combine the power of videos with that of an organized help system by creating a basic HTMLHelp help system or even a simple collection of interlinked HTML pages, with each topic having one or more "click here to watch a video of how this works" links. This provides a structure to turn a random collection of video clips into an integrated, organized help system.
The biggest problem with videos is that they typically run too fast, particularly for long procedures, so one is forced to view and review and re-review the video multiple times.
To avoid this, here are a couple of tips:
First, include a written summary of the steps before the link to provide an overview of the procedure that "primes" the viewers so they know what they'll be seeing.
Second, make sure to record the video at a slower rate than you'd actually do the work.
If you are recording voice narration* (or text subtitles), make sure to stop at least briefly after each step (or provide video controls that let viewers do this themselves) so viewers can perform that step before continuing.
If you do use voice, add subtitles too or make this an optional setting. Some of your audience will be deaf or hearing impaired, will lack speakers on their computer, or won't be able to hear the narration over the noise in their office.

Killing ourselves by murdering our conscience

Governments have nuclear weapons. Individuals have bombs and guns. Governments sit by impotently while individuals rage wars. Our hatred knows no bounds; it has been legitimized. We kill a person in our country, and we "might" be called murderers. Killing a person in another country "might" make us terrorists. It usually depends on the color of your skin and what you have on your face. If you are fair enough, you are fair enough. If you are dark, of course you have been designed with dark thoughts. To have a gun and use it, you just need a long beard or a large bindi. The state of our world is perhaps at its bleakest. But we still find time to crack jokes about terrorists.

A trip, a travel, and a journey

Feelings packed, oh-so-ready,
The emotional universe beckons me.
Rainbows of smiles, seas of tears,
Let's see what else this trip offers me.

Tired I will get, I expect,

Pause my travel, sit and reflect.

On flights of thoughts, I make my discovery,

I seek no other, finally, I find me.

Living until my journey ends one day,
I go on, not afraid to age.
Will not stop, continue to strive,
No fun in dying when I can be alive!

Writer's block

A block is a term that we are all extremely familiar with. Writers choose to call it their own. Their ownership on blocks is, however, not as complete as they would like to believe. Blocks can exist everywhere, in our minds, on the roads, down the drainpipes, and even on a little kid's play mat! The worst kinds are the ones that we plant, at times too firmly, into our minds and refuse to let them out to get some air. Walking in open air is really good exercise. Even for our thoughts. And believe me, ifwe don't let our thoughts out for fresh air once in a while, and renew them, they become really stale. So, before your thoughts rot, air your views, exchange ideas, refresh your thinking, realign yourself. Question where you are headed. don't blame the people around you for a particular situation. Don't call yourself a victim of circumstances. You always have a choice. And that choice must be exercised.

Taking the salt out!

Have you ever tried to keep the salt out of your food? My grandmom did that once. She didn't take any salt for two whole years. I tried eating her food a couple of times and really couldn't manage more than two bites. But now I've done it. I've taken the salt out of my life. Forever. Maybe. No, definitely, forever.
When you force yourself to take out something so essential, you need a lot of willpower. And it's shaken everytime you look around. Try going out to the market. suddenly everything will start screaming out the name of the one thing you've removed. Not just a reminder, mind you. Sometimes, it just shouts "Pick me up"!
What can one do in such a situation? You can't pick it up, because the entire sordid dilemma will start again. One can imagine the emotional turmoil behind such a decision. You don't decide something like this, just for the heck of it!
So, what do I want now? Do I want approval and admiration for having had the courage to take this decision? Or, do I want people's sympathy because it's such a loss?
And am I allowed to grieve for this loss? Not in public I know. But in my solitude, can I shed the tears without guilt?
How in the world do you get over this? That missing ingredient is gone from your life, forever. even the crumbs are gone. No hope, no future. To whom do I complain? Who do I blame? I am the one who took this decision. I am the one who is blamed for moving on. God, I wanted complete ownership of my decision. But never this kind.
I have taken the salt out of my life. I know nothing will ever replace or compensate. Nothing can ever take its place. The piano will never play the same again. The keys are broken, and cannot be mended again. Take care is all I want to say! Bless you is all I can pray!

Goa 2007

Goa, October 2007! A trip that I will cherish forever. It was my first holiday when it was just the kids and I. Not that I don't want my family to be around me, but just the kids and I! This was way too special. Of course, we made sure that it was completely safe with my conference providing the perfect safety net. So many people around me who knew my kids. Made it impossible for them to get into any kind of trouble, not for very long anyway!


Shamelessly, I used the excuse of keeping us safe in a place like Goa, and went ahead and booked us in Cidade De Goa, a five-star resort. And it totally lived up to its reputation. Exorbitant prices did not pinch so much when each staff member went out of their way to make our trip memorable. Bappaditya and Janice have to be the best members of staff. They are definitely the best for me! They took care of my kids, even in my absence, making sure that they were treated right, fed properly, and didn't lose out on all the yummy food. They weren't even looking for tips! My daughter couldn't help but remark, "Mummy, all of these folks seem to be so sweet, but Bappaditya seems to have been soaked in chashni!" Chashni is the sweet syrup that makes Indian sweets so unique.
The whole trip was amazing. Totally relaxing. We did some small little fun things too, like getting tattoos, collecting shells, taking midnight walks on the beach.
Varca beach was just the icing on the cake. The beach was so beautiful, isolated, and clean! I felt as if nature had specially organized a treat, just for us! Away from the hustle and bustle of the cities. This beach made this so true! Thanks Shilpa for taking us there. Parasailing, water scooter ride, Ring-o ride, and finally the Banana ride. All of these were totally exhilirating! Of course, the kids don't think of the Banana ride so positively as they decided to land on each other when toppled off the banana! My daughter still winces when she thinks about that ride. That aside, the day was one of the best days of my life!

Children's Literature-Pushkin-Tsar Saltan

Children's Literature-Pushkin-Tsar Saltan

Waiting on the side,
Waiting is all I can do,
Take your time, yeah go ahead you,
I'll understand if you don't turn up at all!
Nothing else that I can do!
Handing out crumbs, wonder if you feel great,
Wonder if you realize your crumbs are my entire plate.

My friend: "I expected your blog to be much longer!"
Yeah? Well so did I! Guess fear of revealing too much restricted my ramblings and I went ahead to redirect my thoughts into the ears of my therapist! Better to tell one than to tell all! Might do better now! :)

Even as I walked out of my building towards the cab stop, I was thinking about the events that happened during the two hours that I had been awake. I'd sent my kids to school with their hot tiffins, chilled water bottles, and a wet kiss on each cheek. Then, I had gone into my typhoonic spin to get everything tidied up and get reasonbably presentable for office. All through the mad rush, I did not give up one action: judging! If I wasn't judging others, I was judging myself. Why does my son forget to wipe the bathroom floor despite numerous reminders! Why does my daughter spend eons in the bathroom? Why do I not iron my outfit for the next day the previous night? Apart from laziness I couldn't muster up another answer.
So, is that the only reason? Are we untidy, slow, rushed, cruel, ignorant, harsh, angry, stressed, fat, thin, hungry, unloving, and god knows what, just because we are lazy?
I returned to this post after nearly a month. I wonder if that is the way I still feel. Does laziness count as the sole reason for each of our faults? Or does laziness happen to be the major cause propped by the evil in us?

Lots of questions here. And everyone spends their entire life looking for their answers, to the extent that they get so lost in their wanderings, they forget their original question, easily distracted by somebody else's follies that allow them to question more comfortably.

It again comes around to judging. From questioning and judging ourselves, we switch to partly questioning, partly deciding other people's actions and lives. Simply because it's so convenient to do, and after all, there's the normal mundane life's routine to be returned to. You know, the one about waking up to your Monday mornings and spending the entire week at work to get to that elusive relaxing Friday evening. That relaxed evening never comes around, running like an invisible fugitive, making you question its very existence. But funny, how it so miraculously seems to reside in other people's lives. There! I'm back to judging again! Never too far from my thinking mind, is it?

Destination India

Destination India - Much has been written on how India has become the hottest destination for people seeking quality medical treatment, for companies seeking inexpensive labor…

Right, let’s take this one-by-one.

India - the hottest destination
A typical July day in office, ensconced in a jacket to ward off the Cadence chill that makes you forget the reality of NCR. 8:30 pm, you step out of the office, the sudden jump from 20o C to 43 o C, compounded by 87% humidity instantly blinds you. Night blindness? No, foggy glasses! Wipe them clean in the interest of your personal well-being; you cannot depend upon the quality medical treatment sought after by naïve foreigners for whom spiritual nirvana isn’t enough.

Driving home, you switch the FM to the hottest channel, Mirchi! The AC takes effect just as the song “Dilli ki Sardi” comes on. You narrowly escape the traffic rage to reach the parking space, taken by your good neighbor’s Aveo. Resignedly, you park 1 Km. away, and enjoy the trek back home. Reach home, switch on the AC; no reaction. Hallelujah! A power cut! The comatose AC and unmoving fan mock your efforts to cool yourself by fanning the daily news(paper).

A strange pain in your left arm makes you think of Angina Pectoris and your last will and testament. Blindly, you search for the car keys, stumbling and cursing the Gautier furniture. Drive to the close(d?)st hospital. The reception is uninvitingly dark and eerily silent. Following the snores, you locate the receptionist. An hour’s pleading stirs him to mumble into the phone. A nurse emerges from the black shadows holding a candle, reminding you of Florence Nightingale and Waheeda Rahman in “Kahin deep jale kahin dil”.

The quality medical treatment

After two hours of filling numerous forms, the doctor appears. You undergo a battery of tests, wondering at their necessity but the needle in the doctor’s jabbing hand silences you. Every tested nerve screaming in pain, you meekly ask for the diagnosis. Wearing the most somber expression, while you wonder if you should call your nazdiki rishtedaar, he informs you - “Carpal Tunnel Syndrome,” - the result of the nightly ritual of fanning yourself with the newspaper. You thank him for not being on strike and leave.

The inexpensive labor

You reach home in the wee hours of the morning and fall into the bed, not bothering to switch on the fan; you know you are down on your luck. The painkillers knock you out just until the shrill doorbell jars you. You fall out of the bed to greet the car cleaner for the first time in thirty days with the keys and a smile. Impatiently, he lets you know his real reason. It’s the last day of the month; his salary is due. Yours is still to reach the bank.

Inexpensive or non-working labor? The car cleaner, maid, sweeper, gatekeeper, guard, building fund, kids-entertainment club, swimming pool fees, and ever-increasing taxes! You are paying through the nose and it’s really beginning to hurt!

Welcome to India! Quality treatment (by fake doctors on strike?), Inexpensive (for whom?) labor (who does?), Hottest destination (soaring temperatures, raging roadsters, frequent power cuts forcing candle-lit dinners!)